Armed forces to pitch for three new commands before PM

Armed forces to pitch for three new commands before PM
Published October 18, 2012 | By admin
SOURCE: IANS

Finally a Joint SF command ??? :shocked:
Lets hope they will be successful

Indiaâ€™s armed forces will Friday make a joint pitch before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and members of the cabinet committee on security (CCS) on setting up three new commands to meet the threats to space assets and cyber infrastructure and for controlling commando operations.

The three new commands â€“ special operations, aerospace and cyber security â€“ will draw elements, assets and manpower from all the three services, as well as from other relevant government departments, a top commander said.
A presentation, laying out the modalities and feasibility of the separate formations for carrying out these specialist tasks, will be made when the commanders of the army, navy and air force meet with the prime minister and the CCS members at the combined commanders conference, the officer told IANS on condition of anonymity.

The proposals have been prepared by the Chiefs Of Staff Committee (COSC) headed by Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne. This followed threadbare discussions with the other two COSC members â€“ Indian Army chief General Bikram Singh and Indian Navy chief Admiral D.K. Joshi.

Browne will take lead in making the presentation. There will also be deliberations on the proposals at the daylong conference, where the heads of the sword arms of the three services will also express their views.

The idea behind the three separate commands has evolved from a suggestion made by a task force on national security headed by former cabinet secretary Naresh Chandra which submitted its report earlier this year.

The report of the task force is currently being studied by all relevant departments of the government, including the three armed forces.

The three services are of the view that each of the three new commands should be headed by a three-star officer while they synergise efforts and assets in these key areas of security.

Their opinion is that a lieutenant general should head the special operations command, which will pool in the commando forces of the army, navy and air force in a single formation, while the aerospace command should be headed by an air marshal and the cyber command by a vice admiral.

The army has been the pioneer in India in operations by special forces, the air force is the first among the three services to create a space cell and the navy is the first to raise a dedicated cyber security cadre.

At present, the Indian armed forces have two joint tri-services commands â€“ the Port Blair-based Andaman and Nicobar Command and the New Delhi-based Strategic Forces Command that handles all nuclear weapons assets. The chiefs of these two commands are drawn by rotation from the three services.

Through the chief of integrated defence staff (IDS), the heads of these commands report to the COSC, as will the heads of the three new formations.

The decision on the three new commands will rest with the government, though the tri-services commanders will impress upon the nationâ€™s top security leadership the necessity for such formations in the wake of threats and trends in these sectors.

The special operations command has been successfully implemented by the US armed forces. Also, China has separate formations in the Peopleâ€™s Liberation Army in the field of cyber security to carry out both offensive and defensive operations against threats to the countryâ€™s information technology infrastructure.

Both these nations already have highly advanced space security programmes. China had in early 2007 demonstrated its anti-satellite capability, raising concerns among all space-faring nations on the security of their assets in space.

Finally an Indian SF command on its way !
Soon, commandos to come under single command

A plan is afoot to integrate commandoes of the army, navy, air force and the National Security Guard (NSG) under a single command.
â€œThe planning has been going on for the last three and a half years or so. It will result in a single commando force for special and incisive operations. As many as 15,000 well-trained men with sophisticated weapons, who are supported by sound logistics, will come under a single command,â€ said an official familiar with the developments.
The plan has received a fillip after being recommended by the Naresh Chandra Committee, a 14-member task force on national security, which submitted its report to the government in August.

â€œA combined force for operating in absolutely covert conditions is long overdue. Most countries, except India, have such forces,â€ said retired Lt Gen PC Katoch, who commanded special forces in Sri Lanka.

Understandably, this force will operate both within India and abroad.

At present, the Indian Army has about five battalions of para commandoes with another three in the pipeline, the navy has two marine commando battalionsâ€” popularly known as Marcos â€” while the air force has the Garuds numbering about 1,500 commandoes. The elite NSG has five battalions for special operations, excluding substantial numbers of fighters who take care of VIP security.

The commandoes to be commanded by a Lt General of the army will have capabilities and skills to battle it out on land, air and sea and will have the facilities to reach anywhere within the shortest possible time.

Incidentally, last Friday, PM Manmohan Singh had indicated his intent when he called for synergy among the armed forces for â€˜comprehensive responsesâ€™.

â€œWe should aim to abandon single service or segmented approaches and develop synergies across services. Compartmentalised views will only delay our response,â€ the PM had said addressing top commanders